AP English Language and Composition
Dialectical Journal for Selected Work of Nonfiction
What is a dialectical journal?
“A dialectical journal is a conversation between you and what you are reading. You simply write down passages
that make you think, or interest you, and write about your thoughts. This process is an important way to
understand a piece of literature. By writing about literature, you make your own meaning of the work in order to
truly understand a piece of literature. When you do this yourself, then the text belongs to you—you have made
it yours. The passages are there for everyone to read; however, the connections and interpretations are uniquely
yours. You are neither right nor wrong in your response. So be willing to take risks and be honest.”
– Definition from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The term “dialectic” means “the art of practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question
and answer.” Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversation with the texts we will be reading
throughout this course. This process is meant to help you develop a stronger understanding of the texts you
read, and you will be utilizing this journal to incorporate personal responses to the texts, ideas about concepts
covered in class, and our class discussions. You will find that this strategy is a useful way to process what you
are reading, prepare yourself for group discussion, and gather textual evidence for analysis.
The purpose of a dialectical journal is to identify significant pieces of text and explain the significance. It is
another form of highlighting/annotating text and should be used to think about, digest, summarize, question,
clarify, critique, and remember what is read. It is a way to take notes on what is read using the actual text, so
that when you are asked to write an essay about or utilize the information from the text you do not have to re-
read the entire piece. Instead, you can search your notes for direct quotes to use as supporting evidence for your
opinions. A dialectical journal is also an effective way to assess your comprehension. It can be used with any
form of writing: textbook, short story, novel, essay, poem, newspaper article, scientific journal, or any piece of
writing students choose.
Procedure:
As you read, choose passages that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand column of a T-chart;
ALWAYS include page numbers.
In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments
on each passage).
The left column is used for notes (direct quotations or summaries from the reading). The right column is
used for commenting on notes in the left column. Your comments should be developed and demonstrate
higher level thinking which goes well beyond plot summary. I am looking for evidence that you are
thinking as you are reading.
For every nonfiction book that we read, you will be required to write at least twenty entries. We will start off
writing ten passages utilizing the templates and information on pages 2 and 3 with the other ten utilizing the
templates and information on pages 4-6. Each text response will be worth five points for a total of 100 points
for this assignment. Points will be deducted from the text side for failure to document accurately and completely
according to the model provided. Points will be deducted on the Commentary/Reaction Connection side for
summarizing and incomplete analysis. Each response must be at least 50 to 100 words in length.
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Examples:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:
Passages from the text + the page # (1 point) Commentary/Reaction/Connection (4
points)
“There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to Apparently, Maycomb is also a very slow,
go….nothing to see outside the boundaries of sleepy town that is pretty isolated from
Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague everything else. This seems to be especially
optimism for some of the people: Maycomb true since they only have a “vague” notion of
Great County had recently been told that it had FDR’s speech (an allusion to the Depression of
nothing to fear but fear itself.” (21) the 1930’s – must be the era in which the story
takes place) and there is “nothing” outside of
Maycomb County. I wonder why they see the
world this way – maybe people don’t travel
because of the depression or because that’s just
not what people did. It is interesting to me that
it seems so much like my hometown, except
that people in Maycomb have “vague
optimism.” I feel as if people don’t feel
optimistic now. I certainly don’t know what I
am going to do after high school and college.
During the Depression, about what did
Americans generally have to feel optimistic?
They just didn’t know any better.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien:
Passages from the text + the page # (1 point) Comments/Reaction/Connection (4 points)
“-they carried like freight trains; they carried it O’Brien chooses to end the first section of the
on their backs and shoulders and for all the novel with this sentence. He provides excellent
ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and visual details of what each soldier in Vietnam
unknowns, there was at least the single abiding would carry for day-to-day fighting. He makes
certainty that they would never be at a loss for you feel the physical weight of what soldiers
things to carry.” (2) have to carry for simple survival. When you
combine the emotional weight of loved ones at
home, the fear of death, and the responsibility
for the men you fight with, with this physical
weight, you start to understand what soldiers in
Vietnam dealt with every day. This quote sums
up the confusion that the men felt about the
reasons they were fighting the war, and how
they clung to the only certainty – things they
had to carry – in a confusing world where
normal rules were suspended.
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Choosing Passages from the Text:
Look for quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling. For example, you might record:
Effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
Passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
Structural shifts or turns in the plot
A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before
Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs
Passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
Events you find surprising or confusing
Passages that illustrate a particular character or setting
Responding to the Text:
You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important point to remember is that your
observations should be specific and detailed. You can write as much as you want for each entry.
Basic Responses
Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text
Give your personal reactions to the passage
Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences
Write about what it makes you think or feel
Agree or disagree with a character or the author
HINTS:
Sample Sentence Starters: Higher Level Responses:
I really don’t understand this because… Analyze the text for use of literary devices (tone,
I really dislike/like this idea because… structure, style, imagery)
I think the author is trying to say that… Make connections between different characters or
This passage reminds me of a time in my life when… events in the text
If I were (name of character) at this point I would… Make connections to a different text (or film, song,
This part doesn’t make sense because… etc…)
Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or
character(s)
Consider an event or description from the perspective
of a different character
Analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as
a whole
(These are two separate boxes not meant to line-up/correlate)
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In your journal or word document, create a table like the one below. Label one for each of the four required
categories:
Form and Structure
Purpose/Tone/Style
Imagery and/or Detail
Rhetorical Devices
TEMPLATES:
TEMPLATE 1 of 4: Form and Structure (at least 5-6 Passages for this category)
Important Excerpts/Passages from the Text Your Commentary/Reaction/Connection
Use quotes from the text in quotation What is happening? How much time is
marks followed by pages numbers in covered?
parenthesis. What patterns do you notice?
Evaluate/Question/Explain/Predict/Connect
TEMPLATE 2 of 4: Purpose /Tone /Style (at least 5-6 passages for this category)
Important Excerpts/Passages from the Text Your Commentary/Reaction/Connection
Use quotes from the text in quotation What is the author trying to
marks followed by pages numbers in accomplish?
parenthesis. What argument(s) is he/she trying to
make?
What is the author’s attitude toward
the subject?
How is TONE revealed through
DICTION and SYNTAX?
Evaluate/Question/Explain/Predict/Connect
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TEMPLATE 3 of 4: Imagery and or Detail (at least 5-6 passages for this category)
Important Excerpts/Passages from the Text Your Commentary/Reaction/Connection
Use quotes from the text in quotation The imagery of a literary work comprises the
marks followed by pages numbers in set of images that appeal to the senses.
parenthesis. Look for recurring images
(light/darkness, colors, clothing, odors,
sounds).
Point out details (numbers, facts,
description) the author uses to support
the argument.
How are these images and/or details
used?
What emotions do they EVOKE?
Evaluate/Question/Explain/Predict/Connect
TEMPLATE 4 of 4: Rhetorical Devices (Examples of Rhetorical Devices) (at least 10-15
passages)
Important Excerpts/Passages from the Text Your Commentary/Reaction/Connection
Use quotes from the text in quotation Look for examples of LOGOS (an
marks followed by pages numbers in appeal to the audience using
parenthesis. LOGIC), PATHOS (an appeal to the
audience’s EMOTIONS), and
ETHOS (an appeal to the audience’s
ETHICAL or MORAL BELIEFS)
Evaluate/Question/Explain/Predict/Connect
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Elements of Literary Style:
1. Sentence Structure: Are the sentences long or short? Why do they change? Is the word-order
straightforward or unconventionally crafted?
2. Diction: Is the writing tight and efficient, or elaborate and long-winded?
3. Vocabulary: Are the words technical, flowery, colloquial, cerebral, obscure, or……?
4. Tone: What is the author’s attitude?
5. Word Color/Word Sound: How much does the language call attention to or depend on the quality of its
sound through alliteration, assonance, consonance, dissonance, unusual word choice, etc?
6. Paragraphs/Chapter Structure: Are the paragraphs short, or are they enormous blocks running across the
page?
7. Experimentation in Language: Are there any unusual techniques, such as stream-of-consciousness,
mixing styles and genres, unusual layout on the page, breaking rules of grammar and form, and so on?
75 rhetorical terms utilized for persuasion:
adage epigram refute zeugma
allegory figurative language rhetoric ethos
alliteration figure of speech rhetorical modes pathos
allusion hortatory rhetorical question logos
ambiguous hyperbole rhetorical triangle exigence
anaphora imagery satire epistrophe
antanaclasis induction scheme
anecdote inversion dependent clause
antimetabole irony independent clause
antithesis juxtaposition sentence patterns
aphorism metaphor simile
apposivitive metonymy source
archaic diction nominalization speaker
assumption oxymoron straw man
asyndeton pacing style
claim paradox syllogism
colloquial/ism parallelism syntax
concession parody synthesize
credible persona tone
deduction personification trope
denotation polemic understatement
diction polysyndeton voice (in grammar)
propaganda voice (in narrative)
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Rubric for Dialectical Journal:
Critical Reader (detailed, elaborate responses): 90 – 100
Extra effort is evident.
Your quotes are relevant and thought provoking.
You can “read between the lines” of the text.
You consider meaning of the text in a universal sense.
You create new meaning through connections with your own experiences or other texts
You “carry on a dialogue” with the writer; you question, agree, disagree, appreciate, and object.
Sentences are grammatically correct.
Connected Reader (detailed responses): 80-89
A solid effort is evident.
You include an adequate number of legible entries.
You quotes are relevant and connect to the themes.
Entries exhibit insight and thoughtful analysis.
You construct a thoughtful interpretation of the text.
You show some ability to make meaning of what you read.
You create some new meaning through connections with your own experiences and the text.
You explain the general significance.
You raise interesting questions.
You explain why you agree or disagree with the text.
Thoughtful Reader (somewhat detailed responses): 75-79
Sentences are mostly correct with a few careless spelling and grammatical errors.
You selected quotes that may be interesting to you but that don’t necessarily connect the themes of the
novel.
Entries exhibit insight and thoughtful analysis at times.
You make connections, but explain with little detail.
You rarely make new meaning from the reading.
You ask simple questions of the text.
You may agree or disagree, but don’t support your views.
Literal Reader (simple, factual responses): 70-74
Entries exhibit limited insight or none at all.
You accept the text literally.
You are reluctant to create meaning from the text.
You make few connections which lack detail.
You are sometimes confused by clear or difficult sections of the text.
Limited Reader (perfunctory responses): below 70
Very little effort is evident.
You find the text confusing but make no attempt to “figure it out.”
You create little or no meaning from the text.
You make an occasional connection to the text, and the ideas lack development.
Sentences contain numerous grammatical and spelling errors.
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